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Friday, June 19, 2015

Linear or Non-Linear? Which eLearning Design Approach works well?

There are many studies,
blogs and articles available on the internet about linear and non-linear design
of eLearning. There are multiple advantages and disadvantages of each approach over the other. In this post, I’m going
to talk about the approach I like the most.

I
am not a great fan of the next/previous page pedagogical style. Clicking next
on a computer gives me a feel of reading an online version of the book. As an
Instructional Designer, I feel there is a need to enhance any e-learning
environment in which the educator’s pedagogical experience is preset into the
design. Generally, I strive towards making the computer based learning content
non-linear so that learners can traverse their own path during their
independent study. I also tend to use a lot of interactions in the process of
making a course interactive.

However, this does not
imply that linear courses are not effective and interactive. Linear courses
have their own advantages and can be equally engaging for the learners. Some
learners have difficulty with lack of structure and perform poorly in a
non-linear environment. But practically, not all e-learning courses need to follow
a rigid approach. In fact, my favorite approach is the blended approach; I like
my learners to experience a blend of both linear and non-linear environments. I
like my learners to explore, pull in content, and make decisions.

According to the study conducted on Students’ Preferences, learners’ preferred learning path (linear or non-linear)
depends on their personal characteristics such as their age, perceptions on
problem solving, teacher or self study preferences, familiarity with the
windows based computer applications, gender and preferred way of learning.

You can give your
learners a blended learning experience through linear instructions,
assessments, clear introduction, guided learning path and non-linear elements
such as drill and practice, user friendly navigation and branching scenarios. The
key here is to choose which parts of your course content to be presented as
linear and which as non-linear, and also making the course interactive. With
limited recourses, creating interactive courses can be a challenge. I tend to incorporate
ready to use interaction templates that can be customized as per my course
needs.

Making a course linear or non-linear depends on various
factors such as course objectives, nature of the content/subject matter, project
scope, technology infrastructure and target audience. What is your opinion about
the blended approach? Which approach do you personally prefer?